Because it is well known that prostatic cancer is dependent on testosterone, and that dihydrotestosterone is the active mediator of the androgen action in the prostatic cell, we studied serum concentrations of testosterone and dihydrotestosterone in 84 patients with prostatic cancer, 40 of whom were treated by orchidectomy, and 44 who were not treated. There was a significant correlation between testosterone and dihydrotestosterone concentrations in the untreated group, but no correlation among the patients treated by orchidectomy. The results indicate that the effectiveness of orchidectomy as androgen withdrawal treatment in prostatic cancer should be assessed by measurement of both dihydrotestosterone and testosterone concentrations.

A group of 110 consecutive renal stone formers were screened for distal renal tubular acidosis (RTA) using morning fasting urinary pH (mfUpH) levels followed by a short ammonium chloride loading test in patients with levels above 6.0. In 14 patients (12.7%) a renal acidification defect was noted; 13 had incomplete and 1 had complete distal RTA. Distal RTA was found particularly in recurrent stone formers (17%), and especially in those with bilateral stone disease, where a distal renal tubular acidification defect was found in 50%. We have been unable to differentiate primary from secondary RTA in renal stone formers. Regardless of whether the acidification defect is primary or secondary to stone formation, however, all renal stone formers with distal RTA can expect to benefit from prophylactic alkaline therapy and it is recommended that the screening procedure, which is easy to use in daily clinical practice, is applied to all stone formers and not restricted to patients with recurrent stone disease.

Twenty-six women with urinary stress incontinence underwent transperineal or transurethral Teflon injections. The results were classified into three grades (good, moderate, and poor). Good or moderate results were obtained in 50%. No major immediate complications or long-term side-effects were observed. This intervention is associated with a minimum of discomfort for the patient and hospitalization can be limited to 48-72 h. The procedure can be carried out with good effect on women previously classically operated on without success and it does not prevent subsequent surgical intervention for urinary incontinence should this prove necessary.

Thirteen patients with medullary sponge kidney underwent a short ammonium chloride loading test to investigate their renal acidification capacity. All but 1 presented with a history of recurrent renal calculi and showed bilateral widespread renal medullary calcification on X-ray examination. Nine patients had some form of renal acidification defect; 8 had the distal type of renal tubular acidosis, 2 the complete and 6 the incomplete form. One patient had proximal renal tubular acidosis. These findings, which suggest that renal acidification defects play an important role in the pathogenesis of renal calculi in medullary sponge kidney, have considerable therapeutic implications.

No abstract